Oil painter Angela Muellers feels a part of the realist tradition. Her recent series of indigenous landscapes demonstrates her passion for Squamish, but as a climber, Muellers enjoys a unique perspective unseen by those who do not climb.听
The natural, stunning beauty from Al鈥檚 Trail above the Sea to Sky Gondola or a sunset in Garibaldi Park are views that many locals are fortunate to experience, but for those who haven鈥檛, Muellers takes them on a spectacular local journey.
Her process is based on 10 years of academic training and learning techniques. She says her work has evolved because she has given herself freedom to explore deeper observation about issues, and her art provides narratives about the human experience.
听Award-winning medical illustrator Vicky Earle uses her love of art to help people understand the magic and brilliance of nature. She ventures into scientific and botanical illustration to share her passion for the elegant and fragile natural world.
Although Earle has created thousands of illustrations for medical texts, journals, conferences, videos and teaching materials, both locally and internationally, this series of watercolours examines the biodiversity of rainforests. Dramatic and bold blossoms are exclamation points in a sea of green.
鈥淲hile my work has always been accurate, it has evolved from a more artistic interpretation into one that is focused on scientific accuracy,鈥� says Earle, who began painting 鈥渉ot鈥� florals to raise awareness of the beauty of the tropics and to help conservation efforts in these places.听
听Nature-inspired photographer Helen Habgood grew up with a darkroom in her basement and a love of the natural world filled with beauty, patterns and colours. The series on display at the Foyer Gallery showcases a juxtaposition of warm and cool colours: mountain vistas of moody silhouettes, macro views of huckleberries, and an autumn palette of fall leaves.听
鈥淚 am a keen hiker, climber and backcountry skier, so following these pursuits has naturally led me to many untamed places. And I try to always have a camera handy 鈥� the best camera is the one you have with you,鈥� jokes Habgood.听
With a full-time day job, she considers herself a casual artist, but she is always looking to capture a great image.听
In the cases at the gallery this month, expert ceramic artist Ailsa Brown shows work with gestural movement in colour and texture inspired by trees and bark, using glazes applied to hand-built or wheel-thrown pottery forms.听
Her creative process involves sourcing imagery from nature by going out in the field, sketching objects of interest. Then she heads into her studio to work with those sketches, reworking in colour and size to suit the bisque-fired piece upon which the image will be placed. Next she expressively paints the image before the final firing in an electric kiln.听
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Toby Jaxon is curator of the Foyer Gallery at the Squamish Public Library.
